4. Historians have always considered Zhang Qian's journey important because they believe_______.

A. he brought back knowledge of Rome to the emperor

B. he discovered the Silk Road

C. he helped establish East-West trade

D. he travelled as far as Afghanistan

【解析】选C。推理判断题。由第三段最后两句话可知, 张骞的西行使得中国和罗马从此建立了联系, 而且从此开始了一系列的贸易活动, 故答案选C。

Ⅱ. 语法填空

阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Keeping a diary in English is one of the 1. ___________(effect)ways to improve our English writing ability.

2. ___________(compare)with other forms of writing, it is shorter and takes

3. ___________time. It can help us to develop the habit of thinking in English. If we keep practising, 4. ___________(gradual)we'll learn how to express ourselves in English. In keeping a diary in English, we will certainly meet with many

5. ___________(difficult). In the first place, it often happens that we have trouble

6. ___________(find)appropriate words and phrases to give expression to our mind. Secondly, there are many idiomatic ways of saying things in Chinese. And it is extremely hard for us to put them into English properly.

As far as I am 7. ___________(concern), my 8. ___________(suggest)is that we should always have a notebook and a Chinese-English dictionary within easy reach. Whenever something beats us, we can first put it down in our notebook and then consult our dictionary. We can also turn to our English teacher for help if necessary. In short, I believe that 9. ___________is of great use to keep a diary in English for 10. ___________development of our writing skills.

【语篇概述】本文主要阐述了写英文日记是提高英文写作能力的有效方法。并详细阐述了写英文日记的优点、写英文日记遇到的困难及作者的建议。

1. 【解析】effective。考查形容词。形容词修饰名词ways, the effective ways有效的方法。

2. 【解析】compared。考查过去分词。这里是分词作状语, compare作状语时用compared, compare with表示"与......对比"。

3. 【解析】less。考查比较级。和shorter并列用little的比较级less, 表示"用更少的时间"。

4. 【解析】gradually。考查副词。副词修饰后面的整个句子。

5. 【解析】difficulties。考查名词。被many修饰用名词复数difficulties, 表示"许多困难"。

6. 【解析】finding。考查固定结构。have trouble in doing sth. 表示"做某事有麻烦"。

7. 【解析】concerned。考查固定短语。As far as I am concerned表示"就我而言"。

8. 【解析】suggestion。考查名词。句子中缺少主语且句子的谓语动词为is, 所以填suggestion。

9. 【解析】it。考查形式主语。that引导的宾语从句缺少形式主语。

10. 【解析】the。考查冠词。development后有of our writing skills, 表特指, 所以用定冠词。